Ranger Suarez LHP
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.33
36th
WHIP
1.19
69th
K/9
8.50
93rd
BB/9
2.62
75th
P-Score64i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.59
14th
OPS/R
–
IP
137.2
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.64
FinalFinal lineupsAL East
Boston Red Sox 4, Tampa Bay Rays 2
Final Score and Game Recap
Final score, pitching lines and standings context.
7:10 PM ET · Tropicana FieldGame-day snapshot Sep 20, 2:02 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 29, 5:00 AM ET
Pitching recap
| Pitcher | Team | Role | IP | H | ER | BB | K | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranger Suarez | BOS | StarterWin | 5.2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 98 |
| Erik Miller | BOS | ReliefSave | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 32 |
| Ian Seymour | TB | StarterLoss | 5.0 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 87 |
Scoring by inning
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
 Tampa Bay Rays | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
Top hitters
Roman Anthony2-for-5 · 1 HR · 3 RBI
Jahmai Jones1-for-3 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Jonathan Aranda1-for-5 · 1 RBI
Junior Caminero1-for-3 · 1 RBI · 2 BB
Caleb Durbin2-for-3 · 1 R
Matchup at a glance
PitcherStat calculationPregame contextStarting pitchers
Ian Seymour LHP
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.27
120th
WHIP
1.14
41st
K/9
11.04
19th
BB/9
2.50
48th
P-Score55i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.69
198th
OPS/R
–
IP
122.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
4.34
Tampa Bay’s Six-Game Streak Meets Boston’s Pitching Strength
Tampa Bay has turned September into a surge.
The Rays have won six straight games and eight of their last 10, pushing their record to 93–59 and keeping them atop the AL East. They have been especially difficult to move at Tropicana Field, where they are 53–25.
Boston arrives with a different kind of strength.
The Red Sox are 83–70 and sit third in the division, but they hold the second AL Wild Card position and have played well away from home at 45–33. More importantly for Friday’s opener, their pitching staff has several ways to keep Tampa Bay’s momentum from becoming an early runaway.
Ranger Suarez is scheduled to start for Boston with a 3.33 ERA and 3.08 FIP through 137.2 innings. He has also limited home-run damage to 0.60 per nine, a notable number against a Tampa Bay lineup that has been producing more offense than Boston over the full season.
The Rays answer with Ian Seymour, whose season has taken a different shape. Seymour has a higher 4.27 ERA and 4.02 FIP, but he has struck out 11.0 hitters per nine and owns a slightly lower 1.14 WHIP. His biggest vulnerability has been the long ball: 1.70 home runs allowed per nine.
That contrast gives the opening innings a clear tension. Suarez has been better at preventing runs and keeping the ball in the park. Seymour has generated considerably more strikeouts.
Boston’s strongest pitching advantage may arrive later.
Red Sox relievers have a 3.10 ERA, second in MLB, and their 1.17 WHIP ranks first. Tampa Bay’s bullpen has a 4.08 ERA, although its 1.20 WHIP remains among the best in the league.
The Rays have the better offensive numbers overall. They score 4.59 runs per game compared with Boston’s 4.39 and lead the Red Sox in batting average, OBP, slugging and OPS.
Yet the season series has remained close. Tampa Bay has won five of the first nine meetings, hardly the kind of gap suggested by the teams’ positions in the AL East.
That leaves Friday with a simple but compelling question. Tampa Bay has the form, home record and slightly stronger offense. Boston has Suarez and a bullpen that has been one of the hardest in baseball to solve.
The Rays’ six-game streak will have to go through both.
How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix
Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.
Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand
Lineup strength vs today's starter
Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.
BOS.705
−49 ptsOPS edge
TB
.754
Clear edge: TB
Lineups
Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Team comparison
BOS·TBAVG.245 14th.258 1st
OPS.717 19th.728 8th
Home runs163 26th169 22nd
Runs689 23rd736 12th
OBP.319 12th.326 5th
SLG.398 20th.402 12th
BOS·TB1stMLB rank30th
BOSTB
BOSTB
BOSTB
BOSTB
BOS·TB1stMLB rank30th
no league rank
no league rank
BOSTB
BOS·TB+37915th
Run differential
+38414th
87–75 Record98–64
5–5 Last 108–2
Last 10 games
W
L
L
W
W
L
L
L
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
L
W
W
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
10—3
Frequently asked
Who is starting for the Sox?+
Ranger Suarez (3.33 ERA, 7–4) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Rays?+
Ian Seymour (4.27 ERA, 9–6) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
7:10 PM ET at Tropicana Field.
Where is the game being played?+
Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Sox and Rays performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Rays 3–10 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Ranger Suarez is at 64; Ian Seymour is at 55. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.